We are taught to become leaders of today…..

Ask the question to your students and have them finish the sentence. We are taught to be………

Our school has a project with a primary school in Maseru Lesotho. We help with scholarships, maintenance of a school building we funded and 2 teachers and 4 students visit the school each year. But by far the most rewarding part of the project for us is when teachers and students from Mamoeketsi Primary School visit us. Last year 2 teachers and 4 students. The important message here is that we learn from each other. It is not us helping them, itis is all of us helping each other. When they come the whole school is truly engaged and participating in the activities arranged by students. Our organization is led by students and teachers and our website is; act2connect.us and the name of the organization is connecting future leaders. Because that is what we truly believe. By arranging real-life experiences like this, showing how young people can make a difference, we are teaching how to become leaders of today. But the clue is here to scale the project. To make sure that this is the experience of every student in our school, something a normal textbook cannot match.

Plastic bags are essentially indestructible, yet they’re used and thrown away with reckless abandon. Most end up in the ocean, where they pollute the water and harm marine life; the rest are burned in garbage piles, where they release harmful dioxins into the atmosphere. Melati and Isabel Wijsen are on a mission to stop plastic bags from suffocating their beautiful island home of Bali. Their efforts — including petitions, beach cleanups, even a hunger strike — paid off when they convinced their governor to commit to a plastic bag-free Bali by 2018. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you’re too young or you won’t understand,” Isabel says to other aspiring activists. “We’re not telling you it’s going to be easy. We’re telling you it’s going to be worth it.”

Lesson plan

Watch the Ted talk below and discuss with your classmates; how can you contribute?